Things That Go Bump In The Night
by Rogue Darth Skywalker
Summary: Luke and Leia think there is a ghost in their home. Their parents know better.


**Just a short little oneshot based on a Tumblr post I saw a while back.**

* * *

Their home was haunted. Luke was absolutely certain of that. Late at night long after everyone in their 500 Republica apartment went to sleep, muffled sounds could be heard through the walls. He couldn't make out exactly what the sounds are, they sounded almost like groans or growls and occasionally a louder bang could be heard as though something slammed against a wall. Luke wanted to tell his parents about what he was hearing, but his mother was Senator Padme Amidala, a woman of great logic and wisdom and knew she would find a way to prove what he was hearing was the sound of traffic or plumbing or something real and tangible and easily explained. His father was no better. The Hero With No Fear, a Jedi Master, the Chosen One… his father owned a legacy that the eight-year-old boy wanted more than anything to live up to but that is hard to do when he jumps at every bang in the dark. Instead, Luke confided in his twin sister, Leia.

Despite their rooms being next to one another, she was completely oblivious to the sounds he would hear at night and thus was skeptical of the supposed ghosts in the apartment. She tried to brush off his fears by using blunt logic and name calling but he knew he wasn't crazy. And after weeks of trying to convince her he was right, he was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night by Leia bursting into his room and leaping onto his bed.

"I hear it! I hear it!" She exclaimed in a hushed cry.

Luke sat straight up and pulled the covers back to let his sister under the covers beside him. Together in the dark, they waited.

 _Thump_

 _Thump_

Silence.

A muffled groan came from the wall as the two of them huddled closer together. They heard creaking sounds and another voice in the mix. The voices sounded almost strained or in pain but they couldn't make out any words or at least none they could understand.

"What do you think it is?" Leia asked.

"Isn't it obvious? Ghosts!"

"It can't be ghosts," She said, shaking her head, "No one's died here!"

"At least no one who lived here," Luke said. "Some construction worker could have died building it."

Leia gave a shrug and jumped when a loud _bang!_ Reverberated in the room. The sounds stopped for several minutes as if aware whatever it is could be heard. "What do you think it wants?" She whispered.

"I don't know."

"What if it wants revenge?" Leia asked. "Mom and Dad—"

"They could be in danger!" Bolting up, he leaps from his bed only for his sister to grab his arm and tug him back. Startled and unbalanced, his head made contact with her knee, "Ow!"

"Don't be stupid you nerf herder!" She hissed.

"They don't know about the ghost!"

Leia rolled her eyes, "Come on! This is Mom and Dad we're talking about! They can handle a stupid ghost!" Her words were met with a low groan coming from the wall that had both their heads turning to face it. "But maybe it wouldn't hurt to check?"

Slowly, the two of them opened the door to his room and crept down the hall towards their parents' room. Much of the interior design of the apartment had changed drastically over the years as rooms were added or remodeled. There had been a time where Luke and Leia had shared a bedroom even but as they started To develop their own personalities and interests, clashes of design choices and fights over space had made it necessary to separate them.

Their parents' room was not far from their's having abandoned the opulent master bedroom on the main floor in favor of a slightly smaller room closer to them. Luke and Leia stood in front of the closed door and shared a nervous look.

"What if it's in there?" Luke whispered.

"We wake them and watch Dad kick its butt," She said, confidently knowing that if he got mad enough to practically threaten a boy when she got knocked off a piece of playground equipment, that he would do far worse to anyone or anything that wanted to hurt them. Luke nodded in agreement, lifting his fist up and knocking on the door. The sounds of the ghost stopped immediately as their parents sounded like they had been startled awake and they could make out their hushed voices as they seemed to stumble loudly around the room. The door whooshed opened and there stood their mother in her nightgown, her hair disheveled and her face and neck shining with perspiration.

"What are you two doing up?" She asked, crouching down to their level and running her hand from the tops of their heads to their chins.

"Did you see it?" Luke asked.

Her face twisted in confusion, "See what?"

"The ghost!" Leia answered. "We could hear noises in our rooms."

"It sounded really scary."

"We figured it was in your room."

"And we wanted to make sure it didn't hurt you."

Their mother's eyes widened in surprise as they recounted what they had heard. Behind her, they could make out their father, lying prone on the bed, his eyes just as wide as hers. Briefly, their parents glanced at one another before their mother gave them a small smile. "There's no ghost here, sweeties," She said.

"There has to be!" Leia cried, "What else could it be? It didn't sound like a pipe or traffic at all! And there were voices!"

Still, she shook her head, "I promise you, there is no ghost."

Luke and Leia opened their mouths at the same time, "But—"

"Tell you what," She started, "Why don't I have a technician come over and inspect the place. I'll have him check the whole apartment and figure out what that noise is. How does that sound?" The twins shared a glance and Leia gave a shrug, seeing it as a reasonable suggestion.

"Okay," Luke said, a little reluctantly.

Their mother's smile widened and she gave his cheek a light pinch, "Now, it's late," She said. "And you have a busy day going to the Temple with your father and Uncle Obi-Wan."

"But… what if it… really is a ghost?" Luke asked.

"Come on, then," She said, ushering them into the bedroom. Immediately, Luke and Leia clambered onto their parent's large bed and making themselves comfortable in the middle. Their father pulled back the covered and tucked Leia into his side and their mother returned to her side of the bed and tucked Luke beside her.

"No unwanted ghost is ever getting near you two," Their father said, his arm coming to lay across them protectively as their mother did the same. Leia was the first to start to relax, snuggling closer to their father as she let out a big yawn and slowly drifted back to sleep. Luke found it harder to fall asleep but as time passed and the sounds did not return, he let himself doze lightly, feeling safe and comforted by the presence of his parents beside him.

* * *

Anakin flopped down on the bed beside Padme. The twins had been difficult to put down after the "ghost" encounter the previous night. Even after bribing a technician to come up with some fabricated explanation for the noises, they had not been entirely convinced though, it was better than telling them the truth. They were eight! Much too young to know what their parents did together alone at night. If they had known the walls were thin enough their children could hear them, they would have been much more careful and found a time and a place far from their children's ears. At this point, the best they can hope for is that with enough time, this whole thing will be forgotten.

The End


End file.
